Reverse Thinking Research 'Spotlight' ... Pukyong National University Research Team Led by Gominseong Secures Additional Capacity Using Secondary Battery Explosion Risk Materials

Schematic diagram of the cathode electrode with applied improvement material.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Hwang Dooyul] A counterintuitive study that uses substances known as major causes of secondary battery fires or explosions to secure additional battery capacity is attracting attention.

At Pukyong National University, Professor Go Minseong's research team in the Department of Metallurgical Engineering recently presented research results that induced the growth of carbon nanotubes with defects on graphite anode materials to effectively control lithium formed on the graphite surface during charging beyond the capacity of the graphite anode and utilize it as capacity.

The graphite anode of secondary batteries has the disadvantage of low capacity, and dendritic lithium formation on the graphite surface during excessive or uneven charging is also pointed out as a problem.

Dendritic lithium has low reversibility, causing battery performance degradation, and its continuous growth poses risks of fire or explosion due to electrical short circuits, making it a major cause that undermines battery safety.

Professor Go Minseong's research team conducted joint research with Dr. Sung Jaekyung of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Dr. Kim Namhyung of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to find a way to overcome the capacity limit of graphite anodes using dendritic lithium, which threatens battery stability.

The research team induced the growth of carbon nanotubes with intentional structural defects on the graphite surface using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process with a nickel catalyst and hydrocarbon gas.

When the material was applied to the anode, it was confirmed that electrode resistance caused by lithium plating was alleviated, and lithium deposition was uniformly induced.

Experimental results showed that the uniformly induced lithium layer exhibited high reversibility and functioned as additional capacity.

During full cell operation, where the cathode capacity is designed to be larger than the anode capacity, it was possible to utilize the reversible capacity even after 300 cycles.

Professor Go said, “Carbon nanotubes with defects effectively control dendritic lithium, solving battery stability issues, which is expected to reduce unnecessary anode usage during electrode design and simultaneously improve battery energy density through additional lithium usage.”

The research was supported by the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology and the National Research Foundation of Korea and was recently published in an international journal in the materials and energy field (IF=12.732).

Photo of Professor Gominseong (center back) and research team.

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